POLL: The General Election (UK)

Remove all ads!

Yes, that's exactly what I mean. Oh, wait, no it isn't.

Respected by whom? Serious question.

Basing something solely off an article in The Nation is about as wise as basing something solely off an article from World Net Daily.

Don't care that much, but a cursory google search revealed precisely zero news sources talking about Blair repealing the Magna Carta. There were a few forum threads, a couple blogs (both pro/con), and a page on one of the opposition party's site, but, erm...that's about it. So how about you do some work and support it?

 

You can't "repeal" something which is, for the most part, not in effect anymore, has largely defunct clauses, and has hardly any modern legal weighting. This was my point.

What I believe you mean is that the Prevention of Terrorism Act has come under fire for impinging upon habeus corpus - which is first codified in Magna Carta. Although this has happened before in the past, for instance, during the Second World War, and the Napoleonic Wars, I believe, so it's hardly something novel as the article wrongly suggests.

 

Thanks, Dranalis, That is pretty much what I meant. I looked up the Act on Google (courtesy of Her Majesty's Stationery Office); its provisions are fairly intimidating, particularly the long section on Control Orders against individuals. (1.)

It's true that Magna Carta is little more than a Holy Relic, whose primary importance today lies in its assertion that Englishmen have certain inalienable rights--that sounds familiar--that the government may not impinge upon; the principle of the thing, you might say. Which is what this Act does.

The two examples you cite both occurred in wartime, wars in which Great Britain was quite literally threatened with destruction. Whether the "war on terrorism" deserves to be exalted to this dimension is precisely the point.

(1.) Control Orders may be issued against individuals by the Secretary of State. The controlled person's movements and associations may be restricted; his residence may be searched at any time; he may be taken into custody and questioned at any time. There are many other specifications. The Act does provide for immediate judicial review of such orders. It also allows the arrest of an individual as soon as the application for a control order is made, before such order is issued.

A Master: I'd like to reply to your post, but I don't believe there's anything there that can be replied to.